The human body and its physiological functions are based on rhythms. It's a pattern seen in the nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system, and respiratory system. Without the correct rhythm, the functionality is impaired causing health issues or even death. The human body instinctively seeks out rhythm.
There are numerous concepts and routines which utilize rhythms and movement to exercise the body. There are gadgets that work the body through gravity, friction, and inertia, including back and forth and in and out motions. For example, there are aerobic dance routines designed to move the body to a musical beat. However, there is a distinct lack of exercise that also creates and adds to the rhythm and beat.
Take the example of a percussionist. With few exceptions, the percussionist in the band is usually in better shape than the other members because of the physical activity involved in generating and moving with the music. A percussionist is compelled to move with the music by the nature of his instruments. The exercise that accompanies the music is merely an incidental benefit. No exercise coach or dance director tells the percussionist how to move or what steps to follow. There is no complicated routine to learn, only the natural drive to follow the beat and rhythm. The exercise is made easy to participate in and more entertaining to perform by the inclusion of the rhythm and beat.
It is well documented that weighted training has health benefits for the body. Weight machines are commonplace in the modern gym and even at home. These machines typically specialize in targeting individual muscle groups in what is known as muscle isolation. Under that philosophy of exercise, isolation is believed to produce visually bigger muscles. While this has an appeal to a certain segment of the population, there is a much broader category of people seeking to improve their physical strength in a way that is less stressful on the body while producing well rounded and coordinated muscle conditioning. Additionally, many exercise machines and equipment are costly, bulky, and limited in use to only specific exercises.
Strength training equipment that has internally shifting weight provides extra force at the end of a movement due to the imparted inertia. Any changing direction of movement can cause internal weights to shift, but the shift is restricted to the directions in which the weights are free to do so. The extra force imparted at the end of a stretching exercise is well known to aid those seeking to improve their range of motion. The benefits of the internally shifting weight result from multiple parts. First, the muscles experience the resistance of accelerating the weighted bar. A second resistance is met with when the acceleration stops or changes direction. This second resistance is from the force imparted by the internal weights against the inner wall of the exercise bar. The muscles experience co-contractions, eccentric contractions (resistance in the same direction as the force), and concentric contractions (resistance opposing the force).
A weighted exercise bar is a good way to exercise the muscles of the arms (biceps and triceps), shoulders (deltoids, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres major and minor), upper back and neck (serratus anterior, rhomboids, and trapezius), chest (pectorals major and minor). Additionally, the core muscles of the abdominals, pelvis and legs are used for balance and stabilization. These muscle groups include the paraspinal muscles of the back, the rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, and obliques as well as the quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, anterior tibs, gastroc soleus, and other smaller muscles of the legs. In total, many of the body's muscles are exercised to some degree.
Towards that end, there have been many patents describing weighted exercise bars. While the following prior art patents disclose various forms of an exercise bar, each suffers from multiple problems and limitations which the current invention overcomes. For example, some prior inventions have static weights, providing no weight shifting at all. Other devices are limited in their application and use due to having a fixed weight or length. Other devices suffer from a lack of range of motion in which the device will function as intended. Yet others fail to take body mechanics and ergonomics into consideration. Below is a discussion of the relevant prior art.
Prior art patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,445 discloses an “exercise wand” full of shifting “spheres” but describes and claims only a singular hollow tube with fixed end caps. This design has the drawback of requiring a predetermined and fixed length and weight. Users of such a device may not be able to effectively work out with the bar for size or load concerns. The length will further preclude performance of many exercises. Additionally, the prior art teaches towards and claims a limitation of having the inner materials extend between the two ends of the wand so as to occupy 94%-97% of the inner distance of the device. The described spheres are prevented from moving in any direction other than a linear back and forth along the coaxial line extending between the two ends of the wand. This means the benefit of the shifting weight is further limited to exercises that cause the wand to be moved in a coaxial linear motion.
In another prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,531 discloses an “exercise stick” but claims only a singular hollow tube, the innovation being that the tube has removable hand grips, removable end caps, is at least partially clear, and contains colored sand. The design allows for the device to be used in a few more exercises than the previous prior art described above, however it suffers from a major disadvantage in that the internal load, the sand, tends to pool at the lowest point in the stick. Therefore, once the stick is tilted in any appreciable direction, the sand shifts to the lowest point and is prevented from moving in any direction but up. The movement of the stick in a vertical direction becomes arduous and increases the level of strength required to use the device. Likewise, movement in any direction while the stick is tilted creates an imbalanced strain on the user's arms and back because the sand has shifted the center of gravity towards one side but the majority of the sand is prevented from shifting back and forth due to the stacking of the sand at the low end of the stick. As a result, the total range of motion in which the stick retains its beneficial properties is limited.
Prior art patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,749,145 B2 discloses an “exercise device” in which “[t]he central elongated member 102 can be substantially straight, as shown in FIG. 1, or curved to any known and/or convenient radius.” Yet the claims are limited to a singular hollow tube which is either “substantially straight” (claim 1) or “curved” (dependent claim 4). This prior art device suffers from the same limitations as described in the previously discussed prior art. As with the previously discussed patent, the use of a singular interior chamber allows the interior weight to collect in low points of the device. This limits the range of motion over which the device can be used while maintaining the benefits of the weight shifting. As a consequence, the device necessarily limits the total amount of the interior weight to occupying “less than 25% of the volume of the interior.” This still fails to overcome the problem of pooling of the internal weight at the lowest point.
Prior art patent U.S. Pat. No. 8,246,525 B2 discloses an exercise weight (shake weight), but this device uses fundamentally different methods and design. The device takes the appearance of a typical barbell shaped free weight. Using guide channels and rollers, the weight can be moved relative to the handle to generate a sliding center of gravity. The restriction of having the load limited to a single axis of movement inherent to the first described patent is also present in this prior art. The device described therein is not comparable to the present invention in terms of mechanics, ergonomics, or type of exercise, let alone range of motion achievable.
Prior art patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,664 discloses a “variable weight exercise stick” but teaches away from movement of the internal weight. The design is that two modularly constructed tubes can be connected to one another and loaded with internal weights. Yet the load is composed of static weights held in place with retainers. This prior art reference has other limitations not discussed here, and hence it does not teach all of the aspects of the present invention. The relevant discussion centers on the fact that it teaches away from the critical aspects of the present invention. First, shifting weight is described as unwanted and problematic to the stated objective of the prior art invention, which is to practice the golf swing. The benefits of shifting internal weight have been discussed and will be described in greater detail in the sections that follow. Second, the prior art reference requires a linear configuration to mimic the golf club and function as a training device for golf swings. The ergonomic benefits of a non-linear configuration are also discussed in greater detail in the sections that follow.